Nadal’s only human: Albert Costa

2002 French Open champion Albert Costa spoke to us exclusively about Rafael Nadal’s shock defeat, evoked memories of his sweet victory on the famous red clay and tipped Roger Federer for the title. How did you feel after Nadal’s defeat? Did you see it coming? I think it was an enormous surprise. Rafa really wanted to win the tournament, but you can’t win every match. The match unbalanced him for several reasons. First and foremost there was Soderling’s incredible performance. But from the moment he arrived in Paris Rafa had not been feeling right. A combination of the two led to him being knocked out so early on. You say that he had not been feeling right. What do you mean exactly? I think he wasn’t feeling 100%. In practice he wasn’t managing to fine-tune his shots, he wasn’t feeling the ball. Normally he has no such problems, even if he has a few hiccups in the first rounds. This time it wasn’t the case. But Rafa’s only human, and needs to feel good on the court in order to win. How do you feel when you come back to Roland Garros? What memories do you have of your great victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero here seven years ago? As soon as I go out on court or into the changing rooms, the memories come flooding back. Now I have come to realise how difficult it is to win such a tournament. At the time it was my goal, something I dreamt about, and so I was ready to give it my all. I wasn’t aware of the importance of winning a tournament like Roland Garros. Who is your favourite to lift the trophy? Maybe Federer, who lost out to Nadal on the previous three occasions? Roger’s the favourite, simply because of his experience and his results. It’s never easy to pull a victory off, but he really wants it and is capable. He’ll have to control his nerves though… Finally, what do you think of the Spanish version of Rolandgarros.com, which has been produced for the last six years now? I think it’s great because a lot of people in the Spanish-speaking world take an interest in Roland Garros, not only in Spain but also in Latin America. I think it’s a really good idea and I'm sure there are a lot of users.